Pads & Panels: Snoopy Flying Ace Review

Take 2006′s Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron and Crimson Skies for the original Xbox, throw them in a blender and press “frappe.” What comes out is Snoopy Flying Ace for the Xbox Live Arcade. Charlie Brown and company take to the skies with the Red Baron in a World War I setting. The single-player portion acts as a tutorial to get gamers ready for online play. It’s to the point, boring, short, and can be played with a friend. Gamers pilot Snoopy through rings, follow Charlie Brown around or fight waves of enemies. Evasive maneuvers are pulled off with a simple flick of the right control stick, and a wide array of weapons helps players determine their play styles. But multiplayer is the reason to buy Snoopy Flying Ace, with 16-player online dogfights of varying modes, ranging from the typical deathmatch and capture the flag to pigskin, which is basically rugby with biplanes. Snoopy Flying Ace does the Peanuts licence justice, and delivers a great multiplayer dogfighting experience.